Aluminum in Autos Better than Steel to Save Energy and Cut
Carbon

DETROIT--Sept. 20, 2013: Opting for aluminum over steel in new automobile construction
to improve fuel economy is also the best way to reduce energy consumption
and carbon emissions, according to a new study by the United States
Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).

“There is already ample evidence that aluminum is a safe, durable
and cost effective material for car bodies. Now ORNL has shown that
aluminum is better than steel on a full lifecycle CO2 basis. That is the
icing on the cake.”

“As the U.S. works to reduce dependence on foreign oil, promote
clean energy and combat climate change, this report definitively documents
why aluminum offers the most promise for cutting total automotive-related
carbon emissions and energy use,” said ORNL’s Sujit Das, a
widely respected expert on product lifecycle assessments.

“This study adds even more evidence that switching car bodies from
steel to aluminum is the next logical step for car makers to take in the
drive to reduce emissions,” said Randall Scheps, chairman of the
Aluminum Association’s Transportation Group (ATG) and automotive
marketing director for Alcoa, Inc. “There is already ample evidence
that aluminum is a safe, durable and cost effective material for car
bodies. Now ORNL has shown that aluminum is better than steel on a full
lifecycle CO2 basis. That is the icing on the cake.”

Highlights from the ORNL study include:

Reducing vehicle weight with aluminum can result in the lowest total
vehicle lifecycle environmental impact – cradle-to-grave – as
compared to both traditional and advanced steels. An aluminum-intensive
vehicle can achieve up to a 32 percent reduction in total lifecycle energy
consumption, and up to a 29 percent reduction in CO2 emissions, compared to
a typical vehicle on the road today which uses traditional and
high-strength steel in the body construction. While a lightweight steel
vehicle has a lower production phase environmental impact, those initial
gains are erased by higher energy use and carbon emissions during the steel
vehicle’s use phase. More than 90 percent of automobile energy
consumption and carbon emissions occurs during the vehicle’s use
phase, with the mining, production and manufacturing phases accounting for
just 10 percent or less. For an aluminum intensive vehicle, the breakeven
point in its use phase for making up the energy consumed during the initial
production phase is 9,300 miles – of which most automobiles on U.S.
roads would reach in their first year of operation.

The ORNL study modeled a typical 2012 crossover SUV reflective of the
average on-the-road vehicle in the U.S. in terms of weight, performance,
fuel economy and materials mix of steel, high-strength steel and aluminum.
Building on an earlier crossover SUV study by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (Light-Duty Vehicle Mass Reduction and Cost
Analysis — Midsize Crossover Utility Vehicle, Aug 2012), ORNL
researchers analyzed a baseline SUV (a comprehensive mix of mild and high-
strength steel), a lightweight steel vehicle (optimized for maximum use of
high-strength and advanced high-strength steel), and a lightweight aluminum
intensive vehicle (including currently available body, doors, trunk and
hood applications).

“The ORNL environmental report is timely as there is an
increasingly loud aluminum buzz in the auto industry right now – and
with good reason. Automakers are projecting to double aluminum use within
less than a decade as high-volume, all aluminum vehicles move from design
studios to showrooms in the not-too-distant future. We already knew
aluminum offers great fuel economy, safety and performance advantages, and
now it’s proven to be best positioned to cut greenhouse gasses and
save energy too,” said Scheps.

The modeling for this study conforms to internationally recognized
standard practices (ISO 14040 and 14044). Comparative data sets used in the
study were provided directly to ORNL researchers by the U.S. steel and
aluminum industries respectively, both sets of which are current,
peer-reviewed and publicly available. The Aluminum Association underwrote
the effort.

The ORNL study is consistent with an earlier independent study by the
magnesium industry which also concluded that aluminum has the smallest
carbon footprint of competing materials when examining total lifecycle CO2
emissions. In addition:

Using aluminum to reduce vehicle weight across the world’s overall
transportation fleet can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 660 million
tons annually, representing 9 percent of transportation-related emissions.
Recycling aluminum saves 95 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions
associated with primary aluminum production, and requires only 5 percent of
the energy. Nearly 90 percent of automotive aluminum is recovered and
recycled. Aluminum is infinitely recyclable without degradation to the
material.

For access to the full study, facts, and other research about how
aluminum builds a better vehicle, visit Drive Aluminum, or on
Twitter @DriveAluminum.